Competition increases for spots at 'U'

Students applying to the University this year may have a harder time getting accepted than students with similar credentials did in previous years.

"The quality of this year's class is very high and we also have a larger number of applications than last year," said Lester Monts, associate provost for academic and multicultural affairs.

The University would like to enroll 350 fewer students than this year's first-year class, which exceeded its target size by 140 students, Provost Nancy Cantor said in a March 17 memorandum to the University Board of Regents.

This factor - combined with the fact that the number of students who already applied to the University for spots in the 1998 class has already exceeded last year's total - may make the distinction between who gets accepted and who doesn't even less clear.

"We are being very careful this year because this year's class (of first-year students) was very large," Cantor said.

Monts said that although the selection criteria has not been changed to assess the increased number of applicants, the standard may be different because fewer students will be admitted to the University.

"The bar has been raised and that's because of the quality of the class," Monts said. "I'm pleased to see that the University of Michigan is attractive to a lot of qualified students."

Connie Branson, who counsels seniors at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School, said the students with whom she works are becoming aware of the higher standards.

"They're definitely worried and I think they're also taking it a little personally because they know that in previous years, they would have got in," Branson said.

Branson speculated that events, including Michigan's Rose Bowl victory and National Championship title, may have enhanced students' perception of the University, thus increasing the number applicants.

Cantor said a larger proportion of applicants has been postponed than at this point in previous years because the University does not want to exceed its target population.

There is also a high yield of applicants who have already turned in their enrollment deposits.

University officials said that waitlisting qualified applicants is always difficult to do.

"Of course, I'm glad so many students are interested in attending Michigan, but I also understand peoples' frustrations," said Lisa Baker, associate vice president for University relations. "I have an enormous amount of sympathy for applicants and their families."

Manu Raju, a senior at Hinsdale South High School in Darien, Ill., said he was surprised that his high school credentials did not initially land him a spot in next year's incoming class.

"I think that the University might be looking for too much from out-of-state students," said Raju, adding that he thinks he will get accepted from the waitlist. "I feel that it was unfair and that I should have gotten in."

Raju said he thinks his credentials - a 5.0 GPA on a 5.0 scale, an 1180 on the SAT, a three-sport athlete and president of the largest youth group in Illinois - demonstrate that he is a well-rounded student.

This year's first-year class was larger than excepted because of the large number of students who accepted admission and enrolled in the fall. The excess total produced a housing squeeze early in the school year, which is what University officials hope to avoid by making the incoming class smaller this year.

"Because we do not want to exceed our enrollment targets and replicate last year's crowding problems, we are acting conservatively until we see whether this high rate of yield will be sustained," Cantor said in the memo.

Cantor said most students on the admissions waitlist will be updated on their status within the coming two months, but some students will be notified until as late as the summer.

"The admissions process in certainly not complete and won't be for some time," Baker said.

03-24-98